Champions 2023 - NHIAA Hockey Tournament Bracket

NHIAA Hockey Tournament Brackets – Champions 2023

Well folks, high school playoff hockey time came and went here in New Hampshire, and it was awesome! Congratulations to all of the players that were able to participate in the State Tournament! There are some great people in the state of NH high school hockey. The kids are the reason why there is anything to see or talk about, and remember that they deliver a whole lot more than they don’t. It’s all about the kids.

The hockey tournaments are done! The Champions have been crowned! Congratulations to every single team in NHIAA Hockey for competing, and for completing a wonderful hockey season. We should take a moment to count the blessings we have because who would have guessed that just completing a season would be so uncertain. This stage, NH High School hockey, is a tremendous place to showcase your teams and your talents. Job well done. Congratulations, of course, to the State Champions in each division!

It’s NHIAA Hockey Tournament time!

D1 Boys NHIAA Hockey Champions 2023 – They don’t get much closer than this. An OT winner, on a penalty shot no less. Bishop Guertin beat Bedford, 4-3 in OT to capture their 7th State Title in Boys Ice Hockey.

From March 9th: So, it’ll be #4 Bedford against #3 Bishop Guertin for the Championship. BG beat Bedford, 4-2 at home back in January. Bedford won their home game against BG, 2-1, in February.

D2 Boys NHIAA Hockey Champions 2023 – Dover won their second Boys D2 State Title in three seasons by getting past Merrimack, 4-2. After 30 minutes, the game was tied. Dover found a way to withstand a Merrimack charge, took the lead, and then added an empty-netter in the end. Dover head coach, Mike Young has earned the D2 Coach of the Year a few times, and he seems to have his squad playing their best hockey in every February and March. This season, the Championship win was Dover’s 11th straight win to finish the season. Talk about momentum. Their last loss had been the January 21st loss at Merrimack.

From March 9th: When #2 Dover plays #4 Merrimack for the Title at 2:45pm (SNHU Arena) on Saturday, it will be their second meeting of the season. Merrimack beat Dover, 4-3 back on January 21.

From January, 2022: …If you’re thinking that Merrimack is having a down year, I guess anything is possible but they are young and talented. If they aren’t knocking on the door of a D-II Title in the next two seasons I would be surprised…

D3 Boys NHIAA Hockey Champions 2023 – In D3 Boys Hockey the Belmont-Gilford Bulldogs won their 2nd Boys D3 Hockey State Title, with a 4-1 win over Berlin-Gorham. The Bulldogs capped off an incredible 19-1 season. Belmont-Gilford has now played in the D3 Championship game four times in the last nine seasons. They are now 2-2 in those games, and they have played Berlin or Berlin-Gorham in all four of them.

From March 9th: #1 will meet #2 at 5:00pm (SNHU Arena) on Saturday. Berlin-Gorham had just 3 losses this season, the one to Pembroke-Campbell, and a pair of losses to Belmont-Gilford, 4-2 on January 4th, and then 4-1 on February 4th. Will Belmont-Gilford make it three wins in a row against Berlin-Gorham this season? Berlin/Berlin-Gorham has won or shared the D3 Championship for the last three seasons, including a 3-1 win in the Title game last season over Belmont-Gilford. This should be a great game!

D1 Girls NHIAA Hockey Champions 2023 – Bishop Guertin won both the Boys and the Girls D1 Ice Hockey Championships on Saturday. It started with the first game of the day and the BG girls winning their 2nd Title in three seasons. They beat Oyster River – Portsmouth, 3-2 in a great game to start the day.

From March 9th: In the D1 Girls NHIAA Hockey Finals, we will also see #1 versus #2. They will play at 10:00am (SNHU Arena). During the season, these teams played each other just once, back on January 21st. Bishop Guertin won, 6-3. But what will happen on Saturday morning?

I do know this, that whether a school, or combination of schools, has a history of winning NHIAA Hockey titles or not, there are always outstanding games, performances, and surprises in every tournament. Every season, players, coaches and teams are making history. Saturday was an epic day of NH High School Hockey! The greatest thing is that it’s the players that make the moments. Moments that many will cherish for the rest of their lives.

For some, a high school hockey career came to an end in a tournament game. And in those tournaments, only one team gets to win. But, I would say, that the athlete wins. The athlete playing their sport in the times of their lives. It’s beautiful.

For every second that the athlete doubts their ability or their chances, or even the slightest thing, there are so many more rewarding moments. The moments might happen in the backyard, with music playing, and on the 10,000th attempt, the obstacle was overcome, and forever no longer in doubt. They might happen in a tournament win. They might happen when a bus load of teammates realize there is no place they would rather be. They might happen when the athlete first sees their name on the roster, or when they hug loved ones on Senior Night.

There are moments all around us, happening all of the time. The athlete tries, the athlete fails, the athlete succeeds, the athlete wins, the athlete loses. But, the athlete wins because they get to take all of those moments with them, and nobody can take them away from the athlete. And that is awesome!

There are no Champions 2023, if the athletes don’t have a place to play. It’s all about the kids.